Why Krsna Became Gauranga Mahaprabhu
by Shrila Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja
Two Kinds of Maya
Two mayas are there. One is Maha-maya, that is to say, the illusionary energy, and the other is Yoga-maya. Yoga means that which gives you an opportunity to go to Krsna. That is Yoga-maya. That which prevents, that is viyoga-maya or Maha-maya. Yoga means union. Viyoga means separation. So there are two mayas.
Viyoga-maya or Maha-maya is working in the material world. Her activities are so wonderful. Srila Prabhupada has said: the froggish philosophers, mundane wranglers, what can they understand--what to speak of Yoga-maya, the internal energy of the Lord, her activities are so amazing and wonderful. Even sometimes it becomes very difficult on the part of Krsna to understand them! What to speak of us, even Krsna becomes amazed! So I shall speak that thing.
Radharani is hladini sakti. She is Madana-mohana-Mohini, who attracts the senses of Madana-Mohan, Krsna. Krsna always thinks of Radharani. He gets so much pleasure when He unites with Radha, which He cannot get elsewhere. Radharani is leftist, 'vamangi'. Her mood is leftist mood. Candravali is the opposing party, 'daksinangi', rightist. Krsna does not get so much pleasure when He unites with Candravali; at that time He also thinks of Radha. Thus sometimes Krsna goes to Candravali's camp in order to raise the leftist mood of Radharani to the highest point; only for that purpose, nothing else.
GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT
One day Srimate Radharani decorated Her kunja very nicely. Her asta-sakhis, eight intimate sakhis are there. Lalita, Visakha, Tunga-vidya, etc., they decorated Radharani's kunja with varieties of scented flowers, so many decorations. Krsna will come. They are all waiting. Radharani is waiting, waiting eagerly for Krsna to come. Some wind is blowing, some sound is produced. "Oh, Krsna's coming!" So she is in anxiety at every moment. But Krsna has not come.
They sent one dyuti, messenger, "You go and see where is this Krsna!" So the dyuti went out and on the way met Saibya, Candravali's companion sakhi. Saibya told her that Krsna is in Candravali's kunja. So that dyuti came back and reported it to Lalita and Visakha. "Krsna is in Candravali's kunja." So Visakha became very angry. Lalita is a bit softer. Visakha is very hard. They reported this to Radharani. Radharani became sulky. Her leftist mood became heightened and reached the topmost point.
What does Srimate Radharani say? "Why should Krsna come to Me? I am most ill-fated! So many gopis are there. Candravali and so many others are there." That is leftist mood. So Radharani says, "I don't want Krsna to come. Don't allow Him to come to My kunja. Entrance is forbidden!" Radha said this out of sulkiness.
HARSH WORDS
Meanwhile, Krsna came, but at the gate Visakha and Lalita stopped Him. "Not allowed!" "Get out from here, unreliable person! Our prana-sakhi, our dearmost sakhi has decorated this kunja so nicely, waiting for You. Where were You?! Why are You coming now? Get out from here!" Visakha was very hard.
Krsna is now in a very humble mood. He said, "I am a great offender. Please allow me to go and beg excuse at the lotus feet of your prana-sakhi." "NO! NO! Get out from here! Now allowed. Admission forbidden."
Krsna became disappointed. He could not understand what to do. He went to the banks of the Yamuna. He gave up His garments and rolled on the sand, morose, disappointed, crying.
ONLY ONE HOPE
Then Paurnamasi devi, Yoga-maya, came. She knows everything and arranges all the activities there, the lilas there. All the activities of Purnamasi, Yoga-maya, are so wonderful that sometimes even Krsna cannot understand.
So Purnamasi devi said, "Oh my dear boy, why are You in such a condition? I know everything. All right! All right! I have made an arrangement. I have already sent Vrnda-devi to make arrangements for your union with Radharani."
Then Vrnda came. Krsna was very morose, crying, sitting there, rolling in the sand of the Yamuna. Vrnda devi thought, "Oh! I am an instrument in the hand of Purnamasi, Yoga-maya. Krsna is lila-maya, what a very wonderful lila He has manifested. So now Krsna is feeling so much acute pangs of separation from Radharani, and Radharani has developed a sulkiness that Krsna doesn't know how to break. So Paurnamasi is using me as instrument. If I can be an instrument in uniting Radha and Krsna, then I think my life will be successful."
She thought to herself like that, and then approaching Krsna, she said, "I am Vrnda. I have come here under the direction of Paurnamasi. I understand that there is no means how you will be able to meet Radharani and console Her, to break Her sulkiness. No other means is there, but one thing is there. If you do what I say, then there is hope."
Krsna says, "All right. I must do whatever you say. I cannot understand what to do. I am bewildered, I can't think of what to do."
Vrnda said, "All right. You should give up this gopa-vesa (dress of a cowherd boy). You have to give up this thing. Such nice curling hair on Your head--but you have to shave your head. Yes. And give up the flute. Give up your peacock feather. And don't be in these three places bent, tri-bhanga. Give up all these things and this blackish body. No! These are all things You have to give up. You have to shave Your head and You have have to become a sannyasi and give up all these things. I will teach You one song. You have to sing that song. And take one khanjani, a musical instrument. You have to play and sing that song in that sannyasi form, then there is hope."
When Vrnda said this, immediately that form appeared there. Krsna became that sannyasi form--shaved head, and His complexion is of molten gold. No peacock feather, no flute, no three places curved form. In yogi, sannyasi form He immediately appeared there. Then Vrnda devi sang a song, that is glorification of Radha,
srimate radhe bada abhimani
bamya bhave siromani-syama sari ange
achadana tava tapta-kancana varana
eto dina chile pagalani raye
kanu preme prana sampi
sarve rupe guneogo gandharvike
kanu mana kari curi aji radha prema
bhika mage kanu phere dware dware hai
"Oh Srimate Radharani, You have developed a sulky mood. You are the crest jewel of the leftisty mood. Your whole body is covered with a bluish sari. The complexion of Your body is that of molten gold. Up to now Radharani was mad for Kanu (Krsna) prema. She was stealing the mind of Krsna. O Gandarvike, You were stealing the mind of Kanu, Krsna, enchanting Him with Your beautiful form and qualities. But today Kanu, Krsna, is moving from door to door begging radha-prema, radha-prema, radha-prema"
SANNYASI THAKURA
So Krsna sang that song. Then He went to Radharani's kunja. At the gate He found Lalita and Visakha. Krsna started singing this nice song glorifying Radharani. Singing, "Kanu is a beggar today, moving door to door begging radha-prema, radha-prema, radha-prema."
Seeing a sannyasi singing this nice song, Lalita and Visakha became very happy.
Visakha said, "Sannyasi thakura, this song You are singing is very nice. Who has taught You this song?"
Krsna replied, "My Guru is Gandharvika (Radharani)."
"Oh, Your Guru is Gandharvika?"
"Oh yes, My Guru has taught me this very nice song."
"Why have you come here, what do You want?"
The sannyasi said, "I have nothing, I am a beggar. I've come here to get radha-prema, radha-prema. I am a prema-bhikhari. I am a beggar of prema."
"All right, O sannyasi thakura, my prana-sakhi is very, very distressed. She is always crying, in a dying condition. Her fate is very, very bad, ill-fated. Do You know the calculation of fate, sannyasi? Can You calculate seeing the lines on the hand of my sakhi?"
"Oh yes, I know it."
"You know? Who has taught You?"
"Oh my Guru has taught Me all these things--Gandharvika."
"Will You come into the kunja to calculate the fate of our prana-sakhi? She's very much distressed."
"Oh yes, I can do."
Krsna wants that thing (that meeting), so He said, "Yes, I can come."
So in the meantime, Lalita has gone to Radharani and said that a sannyasi thakura has come. "He is singing a very nice song. He knows how to calculate Your fate."
Then Visakha takes the sannyasi into the kunja. She requested Krsna, "Will You please again sing that nice song You were singing before?"
Then Krsna sang that song in glorification of Radha. "Today Kanu is a bhikari, He is a beggar, moving from door to door begging radha-prema." When Radharani heard that last line, She said,
aslisya va pada-ratam pinastu mam
adarsanan marma-hatam karotu va
yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato
mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah
Radharani said the last verse of Siksastskam. "That debauchee, lampatah, whatever He likes He may do. He may do. He may embrace Me or kick Me, or crush Me with His feet or put Me in this condition of acute pangs of separation. Such painful condition, not giving Me darsana. Whatever He likes He may do, that debauchee. But He is the Lord of My heart, no one else."
Then Lalita said, "Have patience, O sakhi. One sannyasi thakura has come who will calculate Your fortune. Don't be impatient."
So Lalita let the sannyasi into the kunja and arranged a seat on the veranda of Radharani's bedroom. Then Lalita brought Radharani onto the veranda. So Radharani came, putting a veil on her head. Why? Because Radharani only sees Krsna. She never sees any other male. Putting on the veil, Radharani came and sat near the sannyasi thakura. Lalita brought Her left hand to the sannyasi thakura.
"Please calculate the fortune of our prana-sakhi."
Krsna said, "I am a sannyasi, I cannot touch the hand of your sakhi."
"How can You calculate then?"
"No, I can calculate seeing the lines on Her forehead. I know how to do it."
"But my sakhi does not look at any male, only Krsna. No. She's very strict in that matter. She never looks at any male but Krsna."
"Are-baba! I am a dandi-sannyasi. There's no harm. I have no desires. I've given up everything. I am a sannyasi. I am only a beggar. Begging love, I am prema-bhikari. I have given up everything. I have no desires. If your sakhi lifts the veil, there is no harm at all. Then I can calculate. I am a sannyasi, I am not an ordinary male."
Lalita devi removed the veil. Then immediately Krsna's form came, tri-bhanga-lalita. That sannyasi form disappeared. Now tri-bhanga, three places curved, peacock feather and flute. Then the eyes of Krsna and the eyes of Radha united. Her sulkiness was gone.
Then Visakha said, "So amazing, what is this?
pahile dekhilun tomara sannyasi-svarrupa ebe
toma dekhi muni syama-gopa-rupa
tomara sammukhe dekhi kancana-pancalika
tanra gaura-kantye tomara sarva anga Dhaka
tahate prakata dekhon sa-vamsi vadana
nana bhave cancala tahe kamala-nayana
"At first I saw You appear like a sannyasi but now I am seeing You as Syamasundara, the cowherd boy. I saw You appearing like a golden doll, and Your entire body appeared covered by golden luster. I now see You holding a flute to Your mouth, and Your lotus eyes are moving very restlessly due to various ecstasies."
(Sri Caitanya.caritamrta, Madhya 8.268-270)
KRSNA-LILA, GAURA-LILA
That is what Ramananda Raya saw. Ramananda Raya is Visakha sakhi in Mahaprabhu's lila. Mahaprabhu showed that form to Ramananda. So amazing! So this is how Krsna has to cry and has to become a sannyasi begging for radha-prema. Radharani was crying and Visakha stated, "One day You'll have to cry like that!" And so He's crying in the form of Mahaprabhu.
sri-radhayah pranaya-mahima kidrso vanayaiva
svadyo yenabhuta-madhurima kidrso va madiyah
saukhyam casya mad-anubhavatah kidrsam veti lobhat
tad-bhavadhyah samajani sai-garbha-sinadau harinduh
(Sri Caitanya caritamrta, Adi 1.6)
What is Radharani's love? Now Krsna is a beggar of that. Radha-prema-bhikari. He came in a sannyasi form, as a beggar, begging radha-prema. In a completely different form--no three places curved, no curling hair--shaved head. Now His yellow garment is saffron colour and He's begging for radha-prema. That is radha-bhava. He came in this sannyasi form, otherwise He cannot pay back the debt. Krsna has become indebted. In this way, Krsna paid back the debt. So Radharani's sulkiness vanished. That is why Krsna became sannyasi, He became Mahaprabhu.
He (Krsna) came to understand these three things: "What is Radharani's love? What is My beauty that Radharani relishes? What happiness and pleasure does Radharani get relishing My beauty, how can I know?" In order to fulfill these three types of greed and desires Krsna appeared as Mahaprabhu, from the womb of Sacimata, sai garbha-sindau harinduh. In order to understand these three things is why He became a sannyasi. This is so wonderful--Krsna became amazed. This is the activity of Yoga-maya, Paurnamasi. Oh, so wonderful that even Krsna cannot understand, then how can others understand?
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